What is it about golf and theatre?

If you google Tom Morris, the acclaimed creator of War Horse and Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic, you’ll be directed to a page about Old Tom Morris, the Victorian golfer who won the Open Championships four times in the 1860s.

Golf and theatre haven’t always had such a close link, however. Nick Faldo famously hated The Phantom of the Opera and Ernie Els struggles with Katie Mitchell’s more experimental recent work.

Despite an extensive thirty-second search, I couldn’t find a single play about golf, not even one by Alan Ayckbourn.

So, why are we building a golf course in a theatre?

The idea – like all the best ones – is nicked from someone else. Our brilliant bar manager Justine spent an enjoyable few hours at the Junkyard Golf Club in Manchester and we’ve brought the idea down south and given it a creative twist. Designer, Fi Russell, is creating a nine-hole course inspired by Exeter, its history, and its stories. You can grab a club, and a beer, don your plus fours and knock balls around, and you’ll be learning at the same time. Sort of.

It may be a rubbish idea. But we’re in the experimental stage before we start spending serious money. If it works we’ll keep it. If it doesn’t, we’ll never talk about this ever again.